Technology firm Kemp Little has launched an IP litigation practice with the arrival of Paul Garland, a senior associate at from White & Case. Garland joins as a partner, and will focus on patent litigation and trademark portfolio management. This hire is part of the firm’s move to broaden its practice areas and strengthen key groups like litigation. Kemp Little has also recently promoted two attorneys in its corporate and employment groups to partnership.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Salans Opens Two Offices in Spain
Salans has launched a 24-lawyer Spanish practice with offices in Madrid and Barcelona. This expansion comes after the firm took over Masons Buxeda Menchen and a two-partner litigation boutique, Alonso Armand Boedels. The Spanish practice will handle corporate and M&A work, energy, property law, construction, taxation, arbitration, litigation and employment. Salans is not the only international firm to target Spain; last year, Latham & Watkins also opened offices in Madrid and Barcelona.
Source: www.legalweek.com
Drier Hires Two Bankruptcy Partners
John Campo and John Kinzey have left LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & McRae for Drier LLP. The two attorneys will join the firm’s Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization Department as partners in the New York office. With the new additions, this practice now has 15 lawyers firmwide; Campo and Kinzey are especially valuable for their litigation experience. These two will continue to focus their practice on representing debtors, trustees, secured lenders, and other parties-in-interest in both Chapter 11 proceedings and out-of-court workouts. Since its founding in 1996, Drier and its affiliates has grown to more than 150 lawyers and seven offices. The firm’s principal practices are commercial litigation, real estate, bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, employment law, corporate and securities, entertainment and intellectual property.
Source: www.prnewswire.com
Reed Smith Builds Corporate Finance Team in CA
Three senior corporate finance attorneys have joined Reed Smith. Susan Alker, formerly of O’Melveny & Myers, and Ken Ikari, formerly of Irell & Manella, join Reed Smith as partners in the firm’s Los Angeles office; Ramsey Hanna, formerly of Alschuler Grossman, joins the firm as counsel in the firm’s Century City office. These hires are representative of the firm’s committment to growing its Southern California practice, as well as to meeting the needs of its corporate clients in the region. As one of the 15 largest law firms in the world, Reed Smith has over 1,500 lawyers and 21 offices worldwide.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
Battle Joins Fulbright
Former head of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, Michael Battle, has joined Fulbright & Jaworski’s Washington office. Battle is most known for being the man who called seven of the U.S. Attorneys in December to fire them; in the middle of the controversy surrounding the firings, Battle resigned from the Justice Department in March. At Fulbright, he will practice civil and commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense; Battle has not yet commented on his new position.
Source: www.legaltimes.typepad.com
Sonnenschein Opens in Dallas
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has opened a new Dallas office. U.S. attorney, Matthew Orwig, will join the law firm on June 1 to serve as Dallas managing partner and national chair of Sonnenschein’s Government Litigation and Investigations Group. Cyberlaw attorney Matthew Yarbrough and ERISA lawyer David Cowart are also immediately joining the office as partners. Yabrough joins from Fish & Richardson, and Cowart from the now-dissolved Jenkens & Gilchrist. The Dallas office will focus on intellectual property litigation, government litigation and investigations, health care enforcement and compliance, and ERISA. Sonnenschein expects to seek new office space within a year as its new office expands.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
WilmerHale Recruits Vice Chair of Litigation from Latham
Latham & Watkins’ former global vice chair of litigation has been hired by WilmerHale. Robert J. Gunther joins WilmerHale’s New York office as a partner in the intellectual property litigation group. Gunther, a veteran patent trial lawyer, was previously also the global chair of Latham’s IP, media and technology practice. WilmerHale has long been known for its strength in IP and IP litigation; the firm is looking to expand its 150-lawyer NY office.
Source: www.law.com
Kilpatrick Stockton Expands Capital Markets Team
Linde H. Carley has joined Kilpatrick Stockton’s Capital Markets team in the Charlotte, NC office. Carley joins the firm as a Counsel in the Financial Transactions, Real Estate, and Restructuring department. Previously, she worked for six and a half years with the Executive Advisory Services team at Bank of America. Carley specializes in the representation of national lenders on loans secured by multi-family, retail, office and mixed use real property, syndicated commercial credit agreements and construction lending. Kilpatrick Stockton has over 500 attorneys in nine offices worldwide.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
Trade Agreement Builds Interest in South Korea
After Monday’s announcement of the free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea, several U.S. firms have set their sights on Seoul, South Korea. If the agreement becomes law, American firms could have offices in South Korea next year, though the legal market would not completely open for another five years. With the 10th largest economy in the world, South Korea is an attractive prospect for some large firms like Paul Hastings, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and DLA Piper, all of which would like to open there as soon as possible. Other firms like Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and O’Melveny & Myers have no immediate plans to open in South Korea. Approval of the pact is not yet certain, however, as it now must gain approval from American and South Korean politicians.
Source: www.law.com
Fashion Law Duo Hired at Sheppard Mullin
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton has snagged a pair of fashion law attorneys from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo. Theodore Max joins the firm as a partner, and special counsel Charles LeGrand will make the move as well; both lawyers will work in the New York office. Max specializes in intellectual property litigation, specifically transactional and licensing matters in the fashion industry. Max’s clients are some of the finest designers in the world, including Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, and Emilio Pucci.
Source: www.marketwire.com
